The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment Dick Roche to publish a new national climate strategy and to invest more in public transport to help tackle Ireland's carbon emissions.
The party will host a Civic Forum on Climate Change at the Mansion House in Dublin tonight, with a live link to the UN climate change conference in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal event has been billed as the most important climate change conference since Kyoto in 1997.
Speakers will include Dr Mary Kelly, director general, of the Environmental Protection Agency and Dr John Sweeney, senior lecturer in climatology at NUI Maynooth. Dr Sweeney will speak on the global and national impact of climate change.
Labour TD Eamon Gilmore, independent TD Catherine Murphy and Sinn Fein TD Arthur Morgan will also be present, along with a representative of Fine Gael. The forum will be chaired by broadcaster Olivia O'Leary.
Green Party energy spokesman Eamon Ryan said: "As world leaders wrestle with the issues in Canada, here in Ireland we want members of the public to come along and join in the debate and discussion on this important issue."
Environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said last week's European Environment Agency report showed Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions are "second worst" of 29 countries.
"Clearly the Government's strategies are not working. Our Climate Change Strategy is now out of date. It was published in October 2000 and a limited review was carried out in May 2002. The document is redundant and must be replaced."
Mr Ryan added: "If the Government is serious about tackling climate change emissions it would invest more funds in public transport instead of motorways, improve the building regulations so that homes cost less to heat and provide greater support for renewable energy such as wind turbines."